How to Edit Business Information on Google

August 2018

Start by Claiming Your Google Business Listing

Whether you have one business location or one hundred business locations, it is crucial to claim and manage your Google My Business listing. This will allow you to ensure all contact information is correct and your business is appropriately represented online.

If your business has a physical mailing address, chances are good it has a Google business listing, whether you created it or not. These listings are often automatically created by location data aggregators, similar to how a phone directory would get your business’ phone number.

The information in these business listings can be used by your clientele for things like: Google for driving directions to your business, holiday store hours, reading online reviews (before doing business with you), asking a question about the business, and more.

When it comes to your business listing on Google, it is up to you to claim it and control how it is managed.

How to Claim your Google Business Listings

Before claiming your business, you may want to check if somebody has already claimed

it on Google. To see if it’s claimed, do a Google search for your business: “business name + location” and check to see if it says ‘Own this business?’ on the listing.

Then, either click on ‘Own this business?’ to begin the process to claim it; or follow the steps below.

Important: When you begin to claim the business on Google, be sure you are logged into the correct Google/Gmail account you wish to be tied to your Google My Business Listing. Check the right hand corner of the screen to see which account you are logged in under

How to Re-Claim Ownership of a Google My Business Listing

In some cases, the business may have already been claimed (potentially by a former employee or vendor). If the business is already claimed and you need to determine who has ownership or re-claim the Google business listing, follow these steps:

Within the interface, click on the listing you wish to edit, and then go to ‘Info’ on the left side of the screen to edit the business information.

From there, you can click on the pencil icons on each listing and edit accordingly.

Add more than one ‘Category’ if more than one applies. Googles uses this information when determining when to show your business in Google Maps results.

If you are a service area business rather than a storefront business, select your service area radius in the address section.

Add plenty of photos! Customers often browse business images before engaging or visiting a business. It is best for the owner of the business to add photos that properly represent the brand, products/services rather than only the images added by others.

Respond promptly to questions and reviews! Timeliness of responses is a key indicator of a quality business, which could indirectly influence your businesses ranking position.

There you have it – a quick Google My Business 101 on claiming and editing your business profile on Google.

If you need additional support, such as how to effectively manage multiple business listings, feel free to reach out to the team at Americaneagle.com for troubleshooting or management assistance.

Courtney McKeown is the SEO/SEM Director here at Americaneagle.com. With 10+ years of experience in the Internet industry, Courtney understands the evolving nature of digital strategy and the importance of staying current on SEO/SEM practices. At Americaneagle.com, Courtney oversees the SEO/SEM team, which is focused on driving both organic and paid search traffic to our clients' websites.

Courtney is a big sports fan and tries to attend as many football, baseball, and hockey games as possible. She also participates in Fantasy Football and Fantasy Baseball leagues.